Nature Morte is pleased to present an exhibition of new work
s by the Bangalore-based artist Krishnaraj Chonat\, the artist’s first solo
show in New Delhi. Employing a wide variety of materials and techniques\,
Chonat creates complex sculptures that resemble both figures and landscapes
\, but always just barely\, hovering between the organic and the man-made\,
between the recognizable and the illusive.

Chonat is inspired
by the phenomenon of mass tourism in the globalized context\, stating that
“the exhibition seeks to highlight the significance of the human emotional
component in the experience of the tourist landscape.” His works challenge
our preconceived notions of the exotic\, the authentic\, the synthetic\, a
nd the quotidian\, all slippery slopes indeed. His constructions refer to m
useum dioramas\, historical artifacts\, architectural models\, natural hist
ory specimens\, and displays found in sporting goods stores. Included in th
e exhibition will be Chonat’s paintings on paper\, delicate and resonant wo
rks which sketch out the ghostly apparitions of monuments\, tourist sites\,
and the mirages of historical events.

Krishnaraj Chonat was b
orn in Chennai in 1973 and lives and works in Bangalore. He earned a BFA de
gree from the Karnataka Chitra Kala Parishad\, Bangalore in 1994 and went o
n to get a Post-Diploma degree from the Faculty of Fine Arts\, M.S. Univers
ity\, Baroda in 1996. Solo shows of his work have been mounted at Gallery S
KE in Bangalore (2004 and 2010) and Project 88 in Mumbai (2007). He has par
ticipated in a number of important museum survey exhibitions of Indian cont
emporary art including those mounted by the Centre Pompidou\, Paris (2011)\
; the Essl Museum\, Vienna (2009)\; the Mori Art Museum\, Tokyo (2008)\; Th
e Mattress Factory\, Pittsburgh (2007)\; the Daimler Chrysler\, Berlin (200
7)\; and the Ecole des Beaux Arts\, Paris (2005).